Unexpected Royalties
by saNyu hIkArI
Summary: No one can forsee what destiny holds in store...And I couldn't agree more than that! Many pairings but mainly SKxSL. Enjoy! [Rated for future language]
1. A Regular Morning Or Is It?

**Disclaimer**: I solemnly swear that I do not own CCS. Not now, not ever.

**Author's Ultra Special Blah Blah:** I've posted this many times before but everyone seems to hate this story since ffnet keeps deleting it. T.T Anyhow, I sincerely hope that you will support me in writing this. I've been wanting to write this for ages. Please guide me!

**Chapter One: Regular Morning…Or Is It?**

-By TeDDie BeaRZ

A loud ring rang across a room. A loud groan followed a while later.

"Five more minutes," a muffled moan announced to no one particular, resolving very determinedly in her heart not to get up _no matter what happens…_

Except maybe if there's a World War Three erupted from somewhere around Earth, she'll _maybe_ be waking up but...we'll handle that later.

Unfortunately for her, the alarm clock kept on with its ringing, the firmness to wake up its mistress did not falter one bit, despite the sounds of utmost displeasure coming from the lips of its possessor. The owner groaned and moaned, shifting uncomfortably in her blanket for a couple of times and finally settled with covering her ears with her soft and fluffy, faint red pillow.

The ring penetrated disturbingly into her ears, vibrating her eardrums, causing her to moan weakly against her Queen sized-bed. Not being able to stand the upsetting ringing, face still on the bed, she stretched out a hand and desperately tries to grab the clock, situated on the bed-table but to no avail.

Sadly.

Muttering incomprehensible things like having such short hands under her breaths, she pushed her arms against her bed to get herself up and lunged for the clock, shutting down the alarm, almost with an impatient slam. Immediately, silence fills in the room, nothing but absolute stillness and tranquility in her room; the one which she very much welcomes…before that ghastly ring-me-a-ding-dong-bell. She sighed with extreme relief and gladness.

Then, she glared at the clock, accusing it for destroying her sweet dream about a _very _handsome young prince in the middle of his mission in rescuing a princess, who was strangely looking exactly like her, from a black knight who was after her. Comically as it seems, she enjoyed that particular dream very much.

Her eyes widen, as wide as it can, revealing the most treasured emerald eyes when she realized something important as she stared at the old red-alarm clock. A shriek of pure horror escaped from her mouth.

"HHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Instantly, her natural instinct kicked inside her, leaving no room for any logic in her brain at that moment. Honestly, would anybody think rationally at that time? She scampered out of her bed, not realizing that _both_ of her legs were tangled in her Hello Kitty blanket in a very, _very_ twisted way, and thus producing a loud THUD! as she landed on the hard, cold floor.

Head first.

"Ouch."

Ouch indeed.

**_-X0X-_**

"'Nii-chan!"

Thump!

"'Nii-chan!"

Thump!

"ONII-CHAN!"

THUMP!

Earsplitting shouts and awfully demanding yells were heard from the second floor of the small, quaint house, followed by several thunderous thumps on the stairs.

A young man who was sitting at the breakfast table, sighed, and placed down the cup of coffee that he was about to enjoy, for the aroma of the self made coffee was so inviting. The loud, booming thuds clearly disturbed him and instantly killed his good mood in the lovely morning. What a lovely way to start!

He had heard of the oh-so-regular-and-typical-screech a while ago and has anticipated this 'onii-chan' yells. But why didn't he expect the thumps? How so very typical of her.

"Oh, joy. First the yelling and now-"

His mumblings were cut short when an auburn haired girl walked – more like _dashed_ – into the kitchen. For once, he was secretly grateful for his previous action of not drinking the coffee. He just might spit some out when she came in unexpected, just like the rough winds, right in the middle of his incoherent mutters.

The girl was standing in front of him, breathing very heavily, catching her breaths back. She pointed a shaky finger at him and hollered, "Why did you not wake me up!" at the top of her voice, making him clasped his hands to his ears. Man, it was enough to make him deaf!

He stared at her, baffled, hands still in the same position. He saw her red, angry face. Gradually, his hands fell down to his side. Murderous. She could probably kill the most dangerous person in the world with a snap. So what did he, the young man, do?

He smirked.

He _smirked_.

Could you possibly believe that?

He smirked.

He smirked, for kami-sama's sake, he SMIRKED!

Sakura hated that smirk, that very particular smirk; ever since she was first born underneath the sky, on a beautiful planet called Earth.

There she was, late for a date, and the _least_ he could do was to shot her the annoying smirk he has.

_Thanks a lot, onii-chan!_ The girl thought angrily_. Not!_

Why the hell does he have to smirk anyway? Of all the faces he has, he just _had_ to choose that one. I mean, the way his eyes squinted until his black pupils got smaller and his eyebrows shooting up his lips curled upwards until it forms a freakish looking smile (oops, smirk) …

Scary.

"Don't you look at me with that smirk of yours!" Sakura shouted at him hotly, unable to stand his reaction, and diverted her gaze from her brother's face in attempt to calm herself, not really noticing that he didn't answer her question, though it was not really a polite one.

His smirk ceased drastically and was replaced with a slight frown, eyebrows knitted together. "What's wrong with my smirk?" He asked the little girl who was coincidentally his sister.

"It annoying and it's pathetic. Add in irritating as well," Sakura said fiercely as she made her way to the refrigerator and took out a Peel Fresh orange juice.

Yum!

She always liked orange juices in the morning. It's a way of giving her body refreshments to start a new brand day. It's also a way to calm down her nerves not to pounce on her brother and start beating him into a 'bloody pulp'.

His words, exactly.

"Ooooh, little Sakura is…irritated," Touya said, his voice faking a scared tone and filled with much sarcasm.

Sakura's head snapped at him, glaring at him heatedly, daring him with her green eyes to speak another word, to provoke anger her more. Let me remind you, it's like putting oil over a fiery flame. As if knowing the consequences he was going to face if he utters just an itsy bitsy word, he closed his mouth and continued sipping his drink as if he didn't say anything in the first place.

"Me letting you off this time is a good thing. There won't be a next time, which is also a good thing too," Sakura said, though it's more like muttering to herself. It's a good thing for her so she can take on her revenge without hesitating and feeling guilty later on, of her very-bad-maybe-prank, just because of a simple yet irritating sentence coming from her brother.

_But that's the problem_, she thought,_ it just had to be a comment from_ him.

Sakura ignored her brother's gaping at the moment and focused more on what she's doing. She took a glass and poured the yellowy, healthy juice carefully into it. She definitely would not want it to spill like what she did about a week ago. Touya laughed at her for days and would not let her live it down, no matter what she did.

Believe her when she says she did _everything_, just to stop him from talking and reminiscing about it. She even tried bribing him by offering her precious, beloved Pengi-san, which was, of course, not accepted by the young man; saying that the deal was off, seeing that she did not have any other treasures than the "...Insufferable little yellow-beaked man in clashing black suit,". Of course, Sakura had shielded Pengi-san away from her brother's sight, fearing emotional breakdown from the little penguin and had ended up yelling at her brother with all her might for calling her valuable Pengi-san with such names.

_Unacceptable, _Sakura thought back to herself as incident flashed in her mind.

Besides, she can't afford any more smirking from her brother, especially when she was definitely late and is on the run. Sakura placed the glass on top of the table, sat down across the young man and grabbed a sandwich in front her, set on a white round plate. Popping it inside her mouth, she forced herself to chew it quickly. Sakura noticed her brother staring at her oddly from the corner of his eyes. It made her felt like she wants to take out his eyeballs and dump it into the bin. Or at least, feed it to the cows.

But cows are smarter than that to eat raw eyeballs, right? She guessed that she'd have to lie to them.

What do cows say to yummy fresh grass? No.

So, she'll just put his eyeballs into the fresh grass and then put it inside the cow's mouth. Next, it'll just be in the cow's stomach. Although, she would bet on her cute piggie personal account, that _no_ cow would eat that slimy, sticky, sick-looking…

_I think I'm going to puke, _Sakura thought, having a strange whirly feeling inside her stomach.

Now that she mentioned it, what's with the amusing face?

"Nani?" Sakura asked him in a stifled voice hotly, annoyance was clearly in her voice, not easily missed by her brother. Though she doubted very much that he'd understand what she just said. Not only was she late for her date, now she had to face his teasing face.

He shrugged that one off. "Nothing," he said simply and sipped his coffee quietly.

"Utsutsuki," Sakura mumbled as she glared at him. Clearly, he had something in his mind.

You can't say that you've got _nothing_ in your mind since obviously you must have _something_ in you mind, which is could possibly be _anything._

Does it make sense to you?

No?

_I don't understand it either, _Sakura almost giggled to herself but decided against it. God knows if her brother starts of with one of his "You're crazy" speeches again. _Now, where's the logic in that sentence?_

Again, he shrugged casually. "You better slow down on that sandwich," he said, going away from the actual conversation and continued observing his sister after she popped another sandwich into her mouth and worked on it with her jaws.

"Can't. Late," Sakura replied shortly, her voice muffled, not taking the advice her brother gave, instead chucking it straight into the bin. Touya heard his sister's answer and sighed melodramatically, to his ears anyway. Sakura wondered why. Touya, however, did not leave her hanging loose long enough to explore the reason as to why he sighed.

"Hmm…You are a kaijuu after all."

Bam!

It was a statement.

Kaijuu.

Now, that word is an absolute taboo for her. Unfortunately, one who says that will not survive her wrath; even though her brother was the only one who did it since the nickname was given solely from him. So…

_Die! Die! DIE!_

Sakura lunged for her brother from her seat, wanting to knock his head down, even if it means some of his I.Q. might escapes from his brain. Well, they might have been bored staying in door for too long, especially in his head. If you think about it, logically, his grades would drop down and he wouldn't have to boast about it to Sakura, especially on her not-so-good subjects.

_Great idea!_

Touya, though, had clearly predicted his sister's actions and held out a hand, placing it directly on her face to stop her. Sakura's hands could not even reach his body to harm it, let alone his head, situated right above his neck.

Who was she kidding? He was so tall!

Darn it.

"Hanase! Hanase! HANASE!"

Sakura shrieked; directing punches that even she knew wouldn't even reach him. It's worth the try, isn't it? It's a miracle if she could hit him anywhere pass his waist. Heck, if it even hit his waist.

Nodding to himself, Touya let go of his hand. Sakura, on the other hand, did not suspect his actions and her body did not have enough time to balance herself due to the hasty act from the grown up man.

So, she landed on the table with a thud!

Head first.

_Again_.

"Itaii yo..." Sakura mumbled to herself, lifting her face from the desk, her fingers touching her forehead. Of course, whose forehead wouldn't feel hurt after banging the floor? Twice?

_Hoeee…I'm going to have a big lump after this,_ Sakura thought tearfully, sniffing.

"Well, you told me to let go," Touya reasoned, shrugging carelessly.

"But I meant that as in figuratively, not real!" Sakura argued back, rubbing her sore forehead aggressively. This is true. Or so she thinks. Maybe if she added 'gently' behind her cries of him letting his hands go; it probably wouldn't result this way.

He shrugged, continuing to sip his drink as if nothing happened and her forehead was not stinging. "Either way, you did."

Well, Sakura can't argue with that since, technically, she did. Sakura pouted, signaling that she was not satisfied, even if what he has said had been true. Touya smirked and leaned forward, nearing his sister's face, who was sulking in silent protests. "You are way too early to challenge me…" He trailed off for a dramatic effect, "Kaijuu."

Kaijuu again.

Like she said, about thousands of time before, 'kaijuu' is a taboo word for her. Had he been listening to a word she said? Of course…Not!

Let's think. Since she could not reach his dummy head to shake it, why not damage the other parts of his body, hmm?

For example…

Sakura's bright green eyes wildly searched around for her brother's soft spot. It is a must for everyone to have as soft spot, right?

So…a-ha! Got cha!

Sakura smirked evilly to herself. Sakura could see him frowning, bringing his black, thick brows together. His act could be cute to the girls crashing over him back at his university (whom he was and is complaining constantly about), but sorry, this is his little sister we're talking about so, of course, Sakura think it's utterly gross (in a sisterly way, mind you). Clearly, Touya does not have a clue of what's coming to him. His black eyes widen in surprise as he realized what his sister was going to do.

_He he he…Too late, onii-chan!_

"ITAII!" Touya shouted in pain once Sakura executed the strategy she planned.

Sakura sat back on her seat, admiring her work of art; Touya crashed with the table, groaning in pain. So, the tables have been turned.

_Serves him right. Revenge feels good. I guess the saying is true then. Revenge is so sweet. Muahahaha!_

Suddenly, she's feeling very evil. I wonder why?

Sakura observed her brother's actions and watched as several flowery languages escapes his lips. She saw him rubbing his foot where hers has just landed as few seconds ago, under the table.

"What's going on here? I thought I heard noises. Did someone break into the house?" A new, gentle voice floated into the kitchen where Touya and his sister were in.

"Nan demo arimasen ka, otou-san," Sakura replied at the voice, her eyes never strayed away from her brother. Thinking back at her father's words, she added, "And no, no one broke into the house."

"Are you sure? It was strangely loud," The voice said again, as its owner stepped into the kitchen. Sakura saw his brown eyes searched around the kitchen, taking in the surroundings. She watched in glee as she saw her father's eyebrows going way up from its original position, surprised when he saw Touya cringing.

"I'm sure, otou-san. It's just onii-chan and his morning mood. Nothing, really," Sakura assured him and putting in more sugar that needed in that sweet, saccharine smile she smiled. Touya shot her an incredulous look, not believing his eyes on how that girl can turn into one sweet, believable sugar. How can she act so innocent? He wondered slightly as he rubbed his foot affectionately.

Sakura simply smiled at her brother. Evilly, I might add.

"Really?" Fujitaka asked inquiringly, looking at Touya who was in pain and was ever so often wincing and wringing.

"Yup," Sakura chirped, bobbing her head ecstatically, making her act more realistic.

"Oh," he said simply, eyes still on Touya, unmoving, curious as to how his only son was in that condition. Assuring himself that nothing big actually happened (which just did), he turned towards Sakura. "You're quite early today, Sakura-san," he stated, glancing briefly at the clock in the kitchen. "Why?"

"I promised to meet someone today. But I'm late for our date today," Sakura said in disappointment, her shoulders slumped as she said it, both her green eyes on the peach colored floor.

"I see. What time did you promised?"

Sakura took a glimpse at the clock in the kitchen. They have clocks in every corner of the house so it's easy to know what time it is. "Five minutes after 7.15," she announced, after looking at the clock, and resumed to stare back at her father.

"Hmm…have you taken your breakfast?" He asked her daughter again, his warm eyes never leave her perfect oval face, one of the beauties she has.

"Hai."

Which wasn't enough for her stomach…but she can't possibly tell him _that_.

"I don't think it's enough for your stomach. It's not wise to swallow a couple of sandwiches," He said in a bit stern voice.

_Wow! You read my mind. _Sakura thought, amazed.

"Which is why, I'll pack you some lunch," he finished, smiling kindly at his offspring.

Sakura beamed at him, delighted with his proposition. "Honto ni?"

Fujitaka let out a good-natured chuckle and nodded. "Of course. Go put on your skates while I get them ready."

"Hai!" she chanted as she skipped out of the kitchen.

_Oops, almost forgot. _She had to bid a sweet goodbye to her sweet old brother. Looking back into the kitchen, she saw that her brother dearest was trying desperately to sit back.

Sweet revenge.

Almost as if he knew Sakura was watching him, Touya looked at her questioningly. Sakura smiled at her brother innocently and stuck out her tongue moments after. She ran towards the front door before he could say or do anything.

Still smiling to herself at such an evil act, Sakura went to the little cupboard near the door. This is where the shoes are located.

Then again, she doesn't normally walk to school. She skates. She's been doing that since her father gave her those skates when she was 10 years old as a birthday present. It was a birthday gift. She simply adored these skates. They were and still are her best buddies. Colored in pink and white, who wouldn't love them? White and pink are her favorite colors after all.

Sakura donned them on, slapping the sticky thingy together. When she finished putting them on and was standing up, Fujitaka appeared in the hallway with a lunch box. He held it to her and Sakura carefully put it in her bag. She thanked him appreciatively for his considerate thoughts.

"Ittekimaste," Sakura announced to him when everything was settled. "Good luck on your expedition!"

"You too," he said back.

Sakura was about to leave when she saw her mother's picture. Sakura smiled at the photo and greeted her good morning. Her father simply smiled when she did that. "Itterassai," he bid, when she turned the knob of the door.

"Hai," Sakura shouted at him for she was out of the house and on the road.

**_-X0X-_**

I guess you've already know all the members in my family.

No?

Well, I'll explain who is who now.

The one with slightly ruffled black hair and matching black eyes is, unfortunately, my dearest onii-chan, Kinomoto Touya.

His name, Tou, means peaches in Chinese, which is also his favorite flower as well as okaa-sans'. My name is also one of her favorite. I think it's obvious that my name comes from the cherry blossom flower, don't you think so?

Onii-chan was born on February 29th. His only celebrates his birthday once in four years, due to the birth date. Yes, the leaping year, of course. He's about seven years older than me so that explains why he's taller, by at least, a foot from me. Although he's twenty, he really is only five years old.

Now, he's studying in Hitosubashi University, situated at the outskirts of Tomoeda, about 40 minutes journey from our house. He took up law, along with his childhood buddy. Why he takes that one up is a mystery to me since I think he wouldn't really know how to defend people…without the use of violence, of course.

The reason to his existence is just to make my life miserable, which is also his favorite hobby.

Yes, you've heard me.

Miserable.

An example for that would be the scene in the house. He torments me in a typical older brother fashion and delights in calling me a monster, teasing me, and finding ways to get me to do what he wants; I still can't find my ways to get out from doing it.

Very typical, huh?

Usually, onii-chan and I split up the chores around the house such as the laundry and cooking. We also back each other up when the other is too busy to finish their chores. The only difference is that he add more chores if I asked him for a wee favor. For example, if something came up and I am unable to attend to my household tasks, he would say, "It'll cost you 5 chores." Seriously, it wasn't even much. At first, it was only like "It'll be 2 chores" or "3 chores will do" but then, it increases drastically to 5 chores last summer.

All I asked was for him to fix my own homemade birdhouse last year, when I was about fifteen years old. It was one of the home works set for the students to do over the summer break. At that time, I was in the last year of Seijou Middle School. I did a really good job in putting the blocks together, and nailing them in a perfect 90 degrees angle – the teacher insists. So, when I was done, I gazed affectionately at my creation. It wasn't my first handiwork, but it was the first time I did not ask for anybody else for help. I did it on my own. Yay me!

But, amidst all the joys that were swaying inside of me, there just had to be a flaw. I wouldn't really mind if it was a teensy weensy flaw. But no, it wasn't teensy, nor was it weensy. Not even teeny. The only thing that was wrong with my perfectly made bird house is that I _accidentally _did not put a hole. So, it does not have an entrance door.

Fine!

Laugh all you want but it was, like I said, it happened _accidentally_.

Towards the end, my entire wake-up-at-dawn plan, didn't even work and it went straight into the drain. I still had to ask for onii-chan's help. So, "Five more chores" was what I had to repay him for doing my assignment after I wasted all my energy that morning. I could have slept in after all those hours but no, Fate was too cruel to me that it played a mean joke on me.

Ijiwaru yo!

Anyway, moving on…

The man with kind brown eyes and brown hair is my otou-san, Kinomoto Fujitaka. He always wears oval-shaped spectacles, adding a wise perspective to his caring personality.

Otou-san is a very understanding father. While his work demands a lot of cooperation from us, he is also ready to forgive our mistakes and help us fix whatever problem may result.

He works as a professor of archaeology at a university, popular for the quality of students produced there. He has a very busy schedule, sometimes going on excavations. After coming back from his digs, he'd brought back home one or two sample of his founding. The artifacts and fossils were very unique even though it was buried underground for hundreds of years.

I'm very proud of my otou-san's work. Plus, I got to learn new things about different artifacts.

Otou-san is a very busy person because of his job, and ends up not being able to spend nearly as much time with onii-chan and I as he probably would like, but still supports us whenever he has the chance, like coming to school whenever we have competitions or festivals. He is an extremely kind person, as it is very hard to anger him or make him upset. In fact, I have never ever seen him angry or upset at anything. Because of how busy otou-san is, onii-chan gets a lot of the responsibility for taking care of me.

Git. I mean, onii-chan. I don't think of myself as a kid that needs to be monitored all the time. Right? Onii-chan, however, thinks otherwise. He still has this image about me as five year old who's still doing the gigi-gaga-gogo talk.

Otou-san is a kind and caring father. I really love him.

Hoee?

My okaa-san?

Well, she's dead.

She died when I was three years old, closely going onto four. I barely remember her features; it's very vague actually. Despite that, I really love her. Otou-san always talk about her whenever he has the time to, telling me about her beauty and kindness and her other positive attractiveness that was golden to him.

There were also times when he told me about okaa-san's weakness and her 'funny' moments. Okaa-san can sleep anywhere and often trips herself, he said. I'd laughed over that, and felt a bit proud, knowing that somewhere in my blood; I have the same flaws as she has.

No, not the sleep anywhere thing; I tend to be clumsy when walking. Although, I'd only trip once in a while, but then, I still trip myself over nothing. Yes, it is a strange thing to be pleased of something negative and could bring in humiliation and embarrassment.

It's just that…It made me feel as if she's with me, the whole time.

She was a model, my okaa-san. Otou-san has lots of pictures of her when she was a model, about 19 or 20, about three years before she died. He puts them in a specially hand made photo album, decorated with her favorite flowers; like ivies, peaches and cherry blossoms, occasionally taking them out when he told her tale me to let me stare at okaa-san's splendor.

Yes, I was not really close with her. Like I said, I was three.

But, onii-chan sure did. He was ten back then. He had once played me a song he and okaa-san played together. I envied him for that. It was indeed a very beautiful song, invented by my own okaa-san.

Onii-chan said that the song he played with her was only half of okaa-san's creation. The other half was with me. It seems that she wrote her song and divided them between us, teaching only half to onii-chan through his piano lessons as she taught me the other half.

I told him that I was three, how could I possibly learn? I surely did not remember anything about her, except when seeing her photos. He only shrugged, not quite sure of the answer. After that, he shooed me out of his room, saying with a scowl that he needs to get ready for his acceptance examination to his desired high school.

I mulled over the new information, processing what he meant slowly at that time. Eventually, I gave up, seeing as I was only an eight year old, still not understanding much and had difficult time dealing out with the amount of information. Onii-chan also told me that she was up there, living happily with the stars. I hope so. I wouldn't want her to be upset.

**_-X0X-_**

Burr!

Sakura hugged herself as she skated down the road. It was chilly outside, even though it's already June. The morning spring brisk greeted her sun-kissed skin. Her shoulder length auburn hair flirted with the late-spring breeze, dangling along the sides of her cheeks, teasing with them.

Even though spring was almost over and summer was drawing near, winds are often cold as well in the morning. Sakura hugged her windbreaker closer. Casting her look on the sideways as she skated, she saw the trees.

Cherry blossom trees.

Gorgeous, I tell you.

Well, in spring at least.

Her family went to the cherry blossom sighting at the shrine near their neighborhood about a week ago. Sakura had practically gaped at the dazzling flowers, (Touya calling her the-wide-eyed-kaijuu of course) still not believing her eyes in that beautiful sight even though she had went to the sighting for almost 10 years. As usual, they spent the entire day partying at the shrine and other places where they can enjoy the cherry blossoms. Of course, Sakura had also met her friends that went to a different middle school: Chiharu, Yamazaki and Naoko. She was even more excited when she learned that they were all going to the same high school. Is it a coincidence or what?

The cherry blossoms Sakura usually see early in the morning were planted in the middle of the road in Sakura's neighborhood, which is a good thing for she always loved the pink flowered trees. She enjoyed looking at them every morning in spring during her skates to school in spring.

Such nice color.

It's a pity, now that the flowers were falling and her favorite color's fading away. Soon, there'll be no more cherry blossoms on the road. Sad to think, but hey; at least there's new flowers in summer that she could look at.

Normally, Sakura would have stopped by certain trees; like the usual spring mornings before turning into the soon-to-be-gone-days, picking up the cherry blossoms petals on the road and showered them over herself, enjoying how soft the petals felt against her own skin as they fall down, obeying gravity.

However, today is an exception. She'd have to speed up. Have you forgotten? She has a date today. And she had promised.

It's not a good thing to break a promise. She hates breaking her promises to people as well as she dislikes people breaking their promises to her. For her, promises are meant to be fulfilled. Promises wouldn't be called promises if it is not a promise, is it?

Right.

Anyway, she had promised to meet this person in Penguin Park. It's a park situated near their not-so-new school; about 10 minutes walk. Or skate. They used to play together there when they were kids; this person and her. Now, they're in high school. It's been about whole month since they were accepted into that school. Konan Gakkou, to be exact. Which is very cool since that school is one of a kind.

Speaking of which, she's almost there. Just after this corner and voila! Here she is! Yes, the Penguin Park. Let's see if she's right.

Sakura pulled out her cold fingers from her windbreaker and counted mentally inside her head. It's a habit to ensure she was at the right place. Like she said before, she's got her mother's gene, the forgetful one. Oh, and of course the tripping too.

Big penguin slides: check.

Wooden plank see-saw: check.

Two swings: check.

Two benches on each side of the park: check.

_Everything's checked, so here I am! Exactly in the Penguin Park._

Bitter winds greeted her mental announcement, no one there to answer it. Hmm……something's definitely missing. Fishy. For now…it's empty.

Sakura gasped in dismay as she realized it. _It can't be! _Sakura scanned around the park looking for the person.

The swings?

Sakura let her gaze travel towards the swings, situated in the middle of the park. There was an oddly creaking sound before, Sakura would have sworn that…but the swings were now empty, untouched and unmoved, not even by the wind. Nope. No one.

The see-saw?

Sakura converted her gaze towards the wooden planks stayed in nearby the bench. No, the wooden planks were not going up and down, so someone couldn't possibly have been there. Nadie.

The slide?

Sitting there next to the swings was the slide. A big sized slide with the King Penguin's red tongue as the slide. There was no sign of anyone at bottom or the upper part of the King Penguin's tongue. Zero. No one.

Oh, no!

Had the person went to school without her?

WHAAAAAT? It's not fair!

But, she did keep the person too long, hadn't she? She'd broken her promise, their promise.

Bother!

Suddenly, her vision of the empty park went black, black pitch darkness.

Poof! Just like that.

Had she really gone blind?

……**To Be Continued Soon…… **

To the old reviewers, okaeri nasai! (Welcome back). As for the new ones, konnichiwa (Hello).

If you like, you can review (as it is the fastest way to contact me) and tell me anything. I'd like to know your opinions and how I should improve on my writings. Also, _kindly or rudely_ point out any mistake you can see in this story. For those who wanted translation for the japanese words, do e-mail me. Until then, ja mata!

P.S: I could arrange the story a bit if there are any of you who wanted to be in the story. Let me know, okie?

**Later days.**

_- No one can foresee what destiny holds in store…and I couldn't agree more than that!-_

TeDDieZ


	2. The Class Job

**Disclaimer: **I solemnly swear that I don't own CCS. Never will.

**A/N: **Just to clear things of, the gang is now 16 years old and the time is set in the early June; the 2nd of June, to be exact.

**Enjoy! On with the story… **

**Chapter Two: The Class Job **

-By TeDDieZ

* * *

Well, two things happened when Sakura went temporarily blind. One, she realized that she wasn't actually blind. Someone simply covered her eyes. Would _you_ think rationally if you were in the panic mode? Course not, anyone who's sane enough can immediately tell you the same thing: nope.

However, she was still shocked, needless to say. Two words to describe it. Heart attack.

Second, well…surely, you can guess her reaction?

"HHHHHOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEE!"

Yep.

Terrified, horrified, and scarified. Everything with the –ied behind it.

Screaming in the morning is okay, she supposed. It was, after all, out of fright. However, flapping your arms and yelling to be let go…isn't such a good thing, she just found out. She looked like a struggling chicken. Not a very appealing sight, really. She was wailing. To be let go. Yes, she was afraid. _Deadly_ afraid. The person, apparently, did as told, but not before laughing.

_Sure, think it's funny, do you?_ Sakura thought bitterly, biting her lip in protest.

When he or she laughed, she froze. Sakura could recognize that laugh anywhere. She'd never mistake it for someone else's. It must belong to _her_. Sakura spun around so quickly that she herself was amazed on how she did not perform a waltz or perhaps a professional tango. Once Sakura faced the trickster, she took in the person's features instantly although she'd already memorized all her facial appearance.

Long healthy black hair flowed from her scalp to her curving waist, beautifully framing her beatific face. Her hair was slightly curled at the end of her hair. Stubborn locks, she had said before. Persistent curls, true, yet it makes her look enchanting, especially when the winds playfully blow her hair.

Eyes are the windows to your soul as some would say. Her eyes were round amethyst eyes, fire of lovely wine laughing and dancing in it, sparkling in an astute twinkle.

Her skin is very white, whiter than all the other humans Sakura has encountered before. It makes her seem like kind of angelic and immortal although the sparkle in her eye makes her seem just like anyone else.

Gorgeous, right?

Sakura was, however, too angry with her to drool over her appearance. Unlike guys. Except that she was no guy. A girl, yes; but not yet a woman.

Sounds familiar to you?

Me too.

"Why did you do that?" Sakura demanded.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist," Tomoyo said, flashing Sakura this sparkly smile she has, revealing her very white teeth.

_Hah! Think you can fool me? _Sakura thought angrily.

"You don't look so sorry to me," Sakura said, in a cold voice.

Tomoyo smiled, seeing how Sakura crossed her hands on her chest. Put in a frowned brow and voila! You got yourselves a cross look. "Arara," Tomoyo said teasingly at the look on Sakura's facade, her fingers ticked mischievously in front of her face, "Don't get mad Sakura-chan."

Sakura pouted childishly, turning her back away from the girl.

"Sakura-chan."

Sakura didn't move when Tomoyo called her name.

"Sakura."

Sakura didn't budge when Tomoyo used the affectionate name; the one she usually used when they were around ten years old and would still use them when in desperate need; which is when she wanted Sakura to model her clothes and be her camera's subject.

"Sa-ku-ra."

Sakura turned a deaf ear when Tomoyo said her name with made-up annoying syllable, used when she really, _really _wanted something; whenever did she not?

From the corner of her eyes, Sakura saw her cousin smiling. _Fine, so you caught me acting. _The small smile on her lips turned into a small frown as Sakura saw the purple haired girl coming towards her. Tomoyo stopped in front of Sakura and placed her hand on her forehead. _Hoee? _

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked Tomoyo quizzically.

"Nothing," she said intelligently. Sakura's lips jutted in a pout, asking herself mentally on how smart enough was the formers' reply. "Is that a bump?" Tomoyo asked Sakura back hesitantly, her finger pointing at the girl's forehead.

_Hoe?_

Sakura felt her hand traveled up, feeling the throbbing pain.

_Itaii yo…_

Something…is there. That…is definitely a bump.

"You have a bruise on your forehead," Tomoyo said. "Doushite? Did you hurt yourself?" Sakura heard her friend asked.

She nodded, confirming the girl's question. "Hai. I fell onto the floor when I woke up."

Tomoyo smiled again. "Let me guess. You just woke up…" she trailed off, glancing at her watch, "…at 7.15 a.m., the time when we're supposed to meet?"

Sakura smiled guiltily at her. So she was caught. "Yes. I'm sorry for making you wait for ten minutes."

"It's okay," Tomoyo said, shaking her head lightly. "But we have to keep that sealed."

Sakura's eyes widen. "Is it really big?" Sakura asked her cousin anxiously.

"Nope," Tomoyo shook her head. Taking up a closer look, she said, "But…it does seem to be bleeding a bit."

_Oh, no!_ Sakura brought her hand up instantly, her fingers brushing gingerly at the bump. Taking it down from her forehead, she looked at her finger. Tomoyo was right. It was blood. Though it's small patches, it's still blood.

Sakura's eyes widen again. "Hoeee…" she whispered in a shaky voice.

"Fortunately, I brought a first aid kid," Tomoyo announced subconsciously, her hands fishing inside her bag, pushing aside things to get to the box she brought with her.

"Eh? Kiu kiu mako?" Sakura asked, wondering how the big white box would fit in her bag. It turns out that it wasn't a big box she usually saw. It was a small one. A very small one, now that she thought about it. It's the size of her pencil box or maybe smaller.

"It's my habit nowadays to have this," Tomoyo explained, opening the lid to the small box, revealing its contents to their eyes. "Who knows if there's an accident going on in unexpected places; there's too much catastrophe in the world today," she muttered to herself.

Sakura had to agree that with all the war going on in the world, you can't be too careless.

It was a plastic box, small; she noted, colored in purple, Tomoyo's most favorite color. Inside, were a small and short bandage, a small-sized scissor, a small bottle of iodine, and finally some plasters. Hmm…everything's seems to be magic-ed into small sized things.

Wow…

Then Sakura noticed something. Is that a…

That thing shouldn't be placed in a first aid kit. Really, a unique place too. For her, that is.

"Ne, Tomoyo?"

"Hai?"

"I hope you don't mind me asking this…demo …" Sakura trailed off, still debating on asking her best friend about it.

"I don't mind. Shoot."

"A…ano…"

_Well, she said shoot, then shoot. _Sakura thought, biting her lip.

"E-eto…"

Tomoyo looked at Sakura oddly, all the while wondering why she was acting so fidgety and so anxious. It's just a simple question, isn't it?

_Okay, I'm shooting!_

"What's your camera doing in that thing?" Sakura blurted out, her finger pointing in that small box. It was, she noted, her small sized camera. Somehow, it looks like some sort of spy gadgets.

Could she…

Realization dawned upon her when Sakura saw the girl squirming slightly, smiling nervously. _Tomoyo's usually calm, not nervous like this. She's acting as if she doesn't want me to know, _Sakura noticed.

Could she be…

Sakura gasped, making Tomoyo more nervous.

Is she?

"Are you photographing a boy you like?" Sakura asked her bluntly. Tomoyo's face instantly cracked into an awkward smile before she proceeds to grin broadly.

_Hoe?_

"Wrong?"

Tomoyo laughed heartily. "Sakura-chan, chigau yo. You know I only take pictures of a kawaii girl," she said, looking at Sakura meaningfully.

"You do?" Sakura asked her subliminally.

"Hai," Tomoyo nodded.

Sakura wanted to ask whom; being the curious little girl she was and still is but was then preoccupied with Tomoyo putting iodine on her bruise. "Itaii!" Sakura squealed in pain, backing away from the painful yellow watery thing, identified as iodine; her hand instantly wielded her bruise from Tomoyo.

"Don't move, Sakura-chan. It just stings a bit," She hushed Sakura.

"A bit? More like a lot," Sakura grumbled.

Tomoyo offered her cousin a kind smile as a sympathetic gesture and resumed with her work, adding the iodine to the bruised forehead. Once finished, she stepped back and looked at her work, satisfied. "There. See? It only took a second."

_I guess,_ Sakura thought as she let her fingers brushed against the wound.

Sakura saw the other girl bending down to the box, searching for something. She watched for some time but still did not know what her friend was looking for. When Tomoyo stood back, Sakura was surprised to see that the thing she was holding wasn't the same as the thing she had in mind. It was the very opposite.

"Eh…Tomoyo, do we really have to use that?" Sakura asked tentatively, gesturing towards the thing Tomoyo was holding.

"This?" she asked Sakura back, eyeing the thing in her hand as Sakura did too.

"Hai." Sakura nodded.

The thing Tomoyo was holding just so happens to be the bandage.

"Of course this, Sakura-chan. What are you going use to hide that bruise from, a plaster?"

_Um…hai?_

"A-ano…I was thinking something else," Sakura said slowly, her emerald eyes were wandering around the place, not letting them to fall on her best friend's face for she does not want Tomoyo to know what she had really thought.

"Which is the plaster," Tomoyo stated quickly, amused by her cousin's act, and was masking the small snickers with a wide, broad grin.

Sakura glared at her friend, knowing all too well that Tomoyo was playing with her, making fun of her decipherable emotions which can be easily read on her face.

_You're not helping, _She thought angrily.

"Yes, the plaster," she admitted grudgingly, all the while still glaring daggers at her know-it-all friend. "I don't want to look like a mummy in that," she explained hastily.

"The plaster can't hide your bruise, Sakura-chan. Besides, it'll clog all the air that the wound's supposed to have. It won't heal soon," Tomoyo said, trying to reason with her friend.

_It will?_

"De-Demo…"

"Demo janai yo," she cut Sakura off, sealing the cherry lips from talking or protesting more.

Sakura pouted. Tomoyo laughed.

Sakura gave up trying to argue with the relentless Tomoyo mode and let her bandaged her cousin's wound. Sakura did not, however, gave up before insisting on using only a fraction of the cloth, just to cover the bruise, not wanting to look like a samurai…or a very-dead-but-woken-from-deep-slumber-mummy.

It was already seven thirty in the morning by the time Tomoyo finished fussing about Sakura's wound. It wasn't exactly serious. But…

"Datte, it's dangerous for you to fly up from your bed, Sakura. Look at what it had brought you," she argued back, not giving Sakura any room to retort back as it was the logical explanation Sakura had heard.

Yes, that's what Tomoyo said when Sakura voiced out the not-so-serious-thing.

Both of them walked together happily, side by side, after that to school.

_**-X0X-**_

I suppose you don't really know who Tomoyo is, aside from being my best friend.

Our friendship started when she was in a new class – mine, too - and lost her eraser. I offered giving my own eraser, a bunny shape, to her. She took it gratefully and promised to give it back to me at the end of the day. I insisted that she kept it. She smiled at me warmly at that time.

That's when it all began.

We were always together. Always: practically stuck to each other.

Her okaa-san (ojio-san Sonomi) is okaa-san cousin. So, Tomoyo and I are both related in some way, even though it's not a very close relation. We are more like second cousins.

Tomoyo is very talented. She can sew and is always designing costumes and various clothes.

Not that I wanted to say no to that. It's just that she always makes me to model her clothes. Not that it's bothering me, of course, but…

Tomoyo's other hobby is dedicated to the video camera. She is always taping everything, and her favorite subject to tape is me.

Am I really worth the shot? It always makes me wonder why at times, but she brushed it off by saying that I am perfectly fine. So, it's been about 5 or 6 years of experience in filming me, but I still can't shake off that uneasy feeling of being taped or recorded. She likes making videos of me while adding music and sound effects to the tape. That's the most embarrassing part. Also, it's frustrating when the melody she added fits perfectly with the situation recorded. It didn't fail bringing the familiar redness to my cheeks.

But I can't very well say no to her face, especially _the_ face.

The one where her eyes were squinted and narrowed as if threatening, her body giving out this certain menacing aura and her face is undergoing so much pressure – under excitement of filming me, I bet - …

…A definitely yes to that.

But that's not all that she's good for; Tomoyo also has an amazing voice, possibly the best in the school. She participates in the school choir and always sings solo if there's any competition regarding singing, back in elementary school and middle school. The songs Tomoyo sing in the shows are beautiful indeed. She still participates in competitions nowadays too but it has lessened lately due to the upcoming exams in exactly two weeks.

Saeki-sensei – the music teacher - simply adores her.

Besides all of above, she has keen powers of observation. I don't know how, but she does. It's simply amazing. She can spot something unusual in a person just like that and make correct assumptions. Sometimes, I didn't know even about something till she told me.

That's how magic she is.

Daidouji Sonomi is her mother. Not to mention, my ojio-san.

She's the successful CEO of a toy company and her family also possesses a considerable amount of wealth on its own. Being one of the important people in the one of the biggest company, ojio-san is therefore extremely busy and doesn't really have time to be around Tomoyo. I noticed that every time I went to Tomoyo's house; even though it looks more like a gigantic mansion. It's simply marvelous and huge too.

Nevertheless, I know that ojio-san Sonomi loves her daughter very much and is always trying to spend as much time as possible with her, and she tries to support Tomoyo whenever she can. Whose mother wouldn't?

I can see that in my otou-san too.

Somehow, they're quite alike. Otou-san and ojio-san, I mean. Onii-chan once told me that ojio-san doesn't like otou-san. It's got something to do with otou-san stealing something very precious from ojio-san. Steal what? Her money? I don't think so.

I voiced it out to onii-chan once but he simply ignores me and ruffles my hair, which is terribly annoying since I've just brushed my hair at that time.

Regardless of a simple misunderstanding –I hope-, I still adore my ojio-san.

_**-X0X-**_

"Ne, Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo's soft voice floated into Sakura's ear, pulling her out from her busy train of thoughts and concentrating more on her best friend who was walking besides her.

"Hai?"

"Have you bought a present?"

_That strikes something. Demo…nani?_

Sakura stopped walking as she remembered something, something very important and should never, ever be forgotten. But she did: unfortunately.

Oh dear.

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura heard Tomoyo asked her, concerned of what had brought her friend to an abrupt stop, "Something wrong?"

Sakura gulped, feeling a large lump has magically appeared so suddenly inside her throat and she was having a difficult time trying to make it magically disappear again. _Can't believe I've forgotten about _that

Tomoyo eyed Sakura apprehensively, narrowing her eyes in process. "Ayashi na…" Her purple pupils widen as realization came into her. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten about it?"

Definitely what Sakura was thinking.

Sakura chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her neck on instinct. "…Oops?"

Tomoyo shook her head disdainfully. "There's no oops about it, Sakura-chan," she scolded her friend softly.

"I just forget about it, that's all," Sakura mumbled, feeling guiltier as seconds passed between them. "I didn't mean too."

"Hmm…" Tomoyo hummed, "Not a good thing to do. If I'm not mistaken, yesterday was Yamazaki-kun's birthday."

Sakura's eyes widen, shock was evident on her face, written everywhere. Is it really?

"Honto ni?"

Tomoyo nodded. "Check your notebook."

Sakura nodded back, dumbly. She brought her baby pink knapsack that was on her shoulder in front of her and fished around it for a little pink notebook. Once she found the specified book she was looking for over dozens and dozens of textbooks and assigned homework, Sakura opened it fearfully.

Her eyes wandered at the not-so-bare pages, slightly hoping that today isn't her good male friend, Takashi's birthday. She would be so dead if it is! She stopped flipping the pages once she found his name. Green eyes trailed from his name to his birth date.

_Kami-sama! It is!_

Sakura's shoulders slumped; her head hung mournfully, eyes staring hard on the ground. How was she going to get out of this mess?

Tomoyo noticed this sudden change of mood and decided to cheer her cousin up, attempting to lighten up the mood. Patting Sakura's back slowly, she said sympathetically, "Daijoubu desu. I'm sure he won't mind."

"But it's my duty, Tomoyo-chan," she cried somberly, "I can't just forget about it. It's like a promise."

"And a promise it is," Tomoyo interrupted her depressed rants politely.

Sakura looked up at her best friend, puzzled. "…So?"

"It's not necessarily give presents to the person at exactly his or her birthday," Tomoyo said in a wise manner, her eyes glinting shrewdly.

Sakura nodded dumbly, trying really hard to follow her point but failed miserably. _Where's the logic in that_, Sakura wondered.

Seeing Sakura's hard frowned face that doesn't suit her, Tomoyo giggled as she detailed, "It means you can still give him his present. It's just that it's now called _belated_ present."

Sakura lips formed a wide 'O' as she understood what Tomoyo has been trying to say. In an instant, Sakura hugged Tomoyo tightly, squealing these happy words, "You're a real lifesaver!"

"I know," she giggled.

_A way out! I can see the light out of this darkness! Kami-sama must have loved me! _Sakura thought, clasping her hands together as if praying. Tomoyo giggled.

"Then, what to get him?" Tomoyo mused as Sakura let go of her.

Sakura grew pale; the smile was instantly scrubbed off her face. She seriously does not know what to get him. Now what?

Let me tell you something about this friend of hers and the reason as to why he's such a mind-thinking trouble.

His full name is Yamazaki Takashi.

He was her classmate since they were in Tomoeda Elementary School and they were separated for about 3 years, only seeing each other occasionally during festivals or exchanging very brief hi and hello on their way to school.

The first thing that anyone will tell you about Takashi is that he's a compulsive liar. He lies about everything from flying penguins to strange traditions of ancient Indian tribes. However, his lies are so mind-boggling, that it's amazing anyone believes him. The funny thing is; people do.

Those people also include Sakura. Yes, her and also another friend of hers, Yanagisawa Naoko – which will be introduced later. They were always astounded by all of Takashi's fibs and believe every single word that comes out of his mouth. Somehow Takashi manages to always confuse everyone.

The only people that don't believe Takashi are Eriol and Chiharu. These two are also friends of hers. That's because Eriol is too smart to be tricked by him and Chiharu can see right through him. This is also where Takashi's love life comes in.

No, silly, not with Eriol, but with Chiharu.

Chiharu is the only person who can see through Takashi's fibs, and almost all of the time, she ends up strangling him or hitting him over the head to make him shut up.

Yes, she is somewhat a violent girl. But, it's for a good cause.

Or so Sakura thought.

Once Takashi starts to go off into one of his stories, Chiharu looks at him suspiciously, and then gets more and more skeptical as his story gets wackier and off the wall. Towards the end, Chiharu gets a vein on her head and said, "All lies. It's all a lie."

And then everyone around her (or maybe just Sakura) says, "What? It was a lie?"

See?

Takashi had everyone fooled already.

Sakura still haven't figured out how Chiharu was able to see through him. The lies sound pretty believable to her. Or maybe it was because she was too transfixed with his story that she didn't analyze the whole falsehood. Hmm…maybe so. Nonetheless, Takashi is like the class clown, constantly cracking jokes to brighten up the day.

Sakura supposed that it's in his nature to do that.

"Have any ideas?" Tomoyo asked Sakura, pulling her out of her busy mind again.

Sakura shook her head slowly, sighing in defeat. "Iie, I can't think of anything."

"It's all right, we'll think of something," she said, smiling optimistically, attempting to cheer her friend's mood.

Sakura smiled back at her, feeling slightly happier than she was before, as she was comforted by her best friend's words. She'll definitely think of something.

Go, go brainstorming!

_WHAT _to get him?

What to _GET _him?

What to get _HIM_?

"How about a book?" Tomoyo proposed suddenly, breaking the sudden silence that was beginning to envelop the both of them.

"Hoe?"

"A book." She repeated patiently, "as a present for Yamazaki-kun."

"Whatever for?" Sakura asked her cousin, out of great curiosity.

Tomoyo shrugged casually. "So he can write a book a called, 'World's Greatest Lies' by the great Yamazaki Takashi-kun."

Sakura giggled. Sarcastic, eh? "Wakaranai desu, Tomoyo-chan. He'll appreciate it, yes, but I don't think it's appropriate. For a birthday boy, I mean."

Tomoyo nodded, humming and agreed with her cousin's words. "But it might be worth it, considering his unique stories and almost believe punch of Terry Prachett." Tomoyo said further, explaining her choice, "It's not impossible if he grows up to be a writer of fiction."

Sakura simply nodded, agreeing.

"Especially since there are also_ some_ who believes his lies that is so raw and unedited…" she whispered softly, trailing off at the end, giving it a dramatic pause.

Sakura gawped at her, noticing her teasing tone. "Tomoyo-chan!"

She held her hands in her defense. "Cho dan daiyo!"

Sakura pouted as they continued to walk or skate in silence, both minds still thinking.

Out of the blue, Tomoyo asked thoughtfully, "How about a pen?"

"Nani yo?"

"So he can write the lying book with a lying mechanical pen."

Sakura doubled around with fresh laughter. She'd definitely understand Tomoyo's reasons as to why. Takashi is always lying around that he left an impression as a chronic liar in everybody's head. Though she knew he meant no harm.

"No, no. It's too official, anyway. We need to get him something more…openly and friends-like," Sakura said cautiously, brows brought forward resulting a concentrated frown. "He is one of our group; after all," she reminded her cousin, glancing at the amethyst-eyed girl.

Tomoyo bobbed her head understandingly. "Hmm…chocolate?"

Sakura shook her head. "Nope, no Valentine's Day."

After a few seconds of thinking, Sakura popped out an idea, a rather rash, hurried idea, expecting it to be considered by the talented girl. "How about some flowers, Tomoyo-chan?"

Sakura did not, however, expect Tomoyo to gape at her. "Nani?" Sakura asked her innocently, not understanding what had happen. Had she said something wrong?

"What does he look like; a maiden waiting to be impressed to you?" Tomoyo shot her best friend a question, hands on her hips. Sakura smiled sheepishly. Tomoyo does have a point there.

"Watch?" Sakura asked her, blushing a little, desperate of getting out from the embarrassing situation.

"It's too…how to say…_girly_ for him. I don't think the class money can afford to it. If it's personally from you or me; then it is all right but we're using the class money here, so, no. Boy's watches are too costly nowadays."

Sakura agreed with her friend's grounds. Her brother's watch is high-priced, all right. She was forbidden to get near to it, let alone to touch it.

"Antique things?" Sakura asked.

"Are they expensive?"

Sakura touched her lips, making an impression of thinking. "I think I know one shop that sells it cheap. At least, enough using the class money."

"An example of the item would be…?" she queried, an eyebrow quirked.

Sakura shrugged absentmindedly. "Wakaranai (I don't know)…duck sculpture?"

"We better not," Tomoyo smiled kindly, shaking her head slightly, "It'll only start off another random fib. We wouldn't want the whole class living in a legend now, would we?"

Sakura grinned. She can sense that Tomoyo exaggerated about 'the whole class'. The only ones who'd believe him are Naoko and her.

Which is a disaster as well.

"CD player?"

Tomoyo shook her head gradually. "He doesn't listen to the songs; he'll only ends up singing with it. Have you ever heard one of his singings?" Tomoyo asked the auburn haired girl beside her.

Sakura shook her head, curious. What's wrong with Takashi's singing? It can't be that bad…can it?

"You really are lucky then. Most of the students who heard him said that their ears are still ringing with his voice inside of it," Tomoyo scrunched up her nose, making a face that-looks-like-a-disgusting-face. "It was awful," she finished, shuddering a bit.

Sakura giggled. "That bad?"

"Yep," Tomoyo answered instantly. "Saeki-sensei wanted to ban him from singing," Sakura giggled controllably as Tomoyo dramatically made a sad face before continuing, "But singing can't possibly be banned. It's free for everyone who's anyone to sing."

"Including Yamazaki-kun," Sakura added.

Tomoyo made a sad-like smile, "Including him."

"So, your assumption is that Yamazaki-kun may be a whiz in computers but he's horrible in singing," Sakura concluded.

"Right."

Sakura giggled some more.

"Candies?" Sakura asked the girl next to her, resuming their first conversation that strayed away from before.

"Candies?" Tomoyo repeated incredulously," Are you high? "

"Not really, no…"

And so, the ideas of getting present for their male friend continued. Each time Sakura pops up another idea, it got more and more uproarious. Tomoyo had a good laugh at it, all right.

I mean, where in the world did she has the idea of suggesting getting a car toy for him? Or an ice cream? Or a bunny plushie? Or a Mask Rider figure? ("He's not a kid anymore, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo laughed.)

After some more failed thinking, Sakura surrendered. "Well, I'm out."

"A soccer ball?" Tomoyo asked her.

This time, Sakura was the one to gape at Tomoyo.

"Doushtan desu?"

"He's not a 6-year-old kid that needs to be brainwash with a ball, Tomoyo-chan."

"Good point," Tomoyo replied. Thinking a bit, Tomoyo asked, "Sneakers?"

"Surely, he must have had plenty," Sakura held up her almost cold hand from her pocket, counting, "His soccer shoe, his basketball shoe, his school shoe -mind you, that's three at least- his walking shoe, his exercising shoe, his-"

"You're babbling. I get the point," Tomoyo interjected calmly.

Sakura grinned, "So, basically, he's got lots and lots of shoes."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "I get the point," she repeated again.

Smirking, Sakura replied, "Sure you do."

"Obento?"

"I don't think he fancies eating much. Imagine Chiharu having a chubby kanishi," Sakura sniggered as soon as she said it, an image of the both of them formed inside her head.

"That's not funny, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo scolded Sakura softly but her broad grin gave it away. "But," Tomoyo continued, still grinning widely as possible, "I think she'd only hug him more, squealing 'anata wa kawaii desu!' before squeezing him again."

"If he didn't tell tall tale, that is." Sakura smiled, still lost in the image of the maybe chubby boy and the aggressive girl. Snapping back into reality, she pointed a finger at the friend besides her, "You're just as rascally as I am!"

"I am not." she smiled. But both of them knew better. Tomoyo and her, they're alike, so much alike.

"Clothes?" Tomoyo recommended.

"Not so appropriate. We don't even know what his taste is like," Sakura reasoned. Thinking for about a minute, Sakura continued, "What if we bought him an atrocious t-shirt –in his opinion, anyway- and the next day, we found out he burned the t-shirt _right after we gave him_!" Sakura exclaimed, aghast by the idea corrupting her brain.

An image formed in her head, consisting of a very angry Devil Yamazaki pointing his sharp staff at her almost flat stomach, wanting very badly to scratch it with the sharp points. His bloody red eyes pierced into hers, his tongue slipping in and out in a very snaky like…

Not a very lovely picture, I tell you.

Sakura was brought out from her highly imaginative image by Tomoyo's musical laughter. "From the looks on your face, you must have imagined The Devil Yamazaki," she snickered.

"He's a guy, for kami-sama's sake! Who knows if he did it exactly like what I've imagined!" Sakura argued back.

Tomoyo waggled her finger in front of her. "You're forgetting one little thing."

"What little thing? Isn't it a big thing?" Sakura inquired, completely lost and confused.

"Nope," Tomoyo said, shaking her head. "Chiharu-chan." Tomoyo stated simply after a minute of pausing.

"Oh, right."

Sakura had forgotten about her. Chiharu would definitely knock him dead before she allows him to do that. So…she's safe.

I hope so.

"………"

"Out of ideas?" Sakura teased the talented designer.

Tomoyo nodded. "Out."

"That's nothing then. We're back to square one. He's the hardest person yet to give birthday presents to," Sakura sighed in defeat.

"Well, what if we ask for Chiharu-chan's opinion. I'm quite positive she knows. She is, after all, close to Yamazaki-kun."

Sakura nodded, extremely slowly.

"I'm sure she won't mind us asking," Tomoyo continued saying assuringly, seeing a look on her friend's face.

"Chigau yo," Sakura protested quietly.

Tomoyo glanced at her cousin sideways. "You're afraid that she'll be prejudice?"

Sakura looked at her friend, startled for a minute. Remember how I said that she has a keen sense of observation. Add in the power of reading minds too.

"Hai," Sakura agreed gradually.

"Genki dase yo. We'll be fine. It's not like she's going to eat you or something," Tomoyo guaranteed her. "Besides, she eats food, not human being," she said jokingly.

Sakura smiled at Tomoyo, feeling a bit relief. Thank kami-sama she's with her right now.

**_-X0X-_**

I guess I've left you hanging without any ropes for a bit too long. The duty mentioned before is my duty, though it would seem more like a job. I'm the birthday planner.

No, I don't PLAN birthday.

My job is to jot down my classmate's birthdays and in charge in buying gifts for them. Looks easy, doesn't it? But always remember this; looks can be deceiving.

It's hard when I have to think of the most _suitable _present for them, especially when he or she is not my close friend but merely as an acquaintance. Yes, I am friendly with all of my classmates (except for one person, but you don't have to know about it), but not so close up to the point that I know everything about them.

That would be called a stalker, wouldn't it?

This is because some of them already have their own groups, the people they usually hang out with. For example, our circle of close friends consists of me, Tomoyo and our other three friends. One of the other reasons is that thinking…is not my best point.

Not exactly, anyway.

Luckily, Tomoyo is as my sidekick, meaning that she'll help me think off the appropriate gift.

There are about twenty students in my class, class 1 C.

Some of them have had their birthdays and their respective presents as well, including mine. However, those left were still unknown. I had not check the book for a little while.

Okay, two days of public holiday made me forget my job. I was occupied with something else that's extremely confidential. Hey, no peeping inside my brain now. Out!

_**-X0X-**_

Sakura glanced at the little notebook in her hand. Slowly, she turned the pages until she found the one that she had written her classmates' birthdays.

It says:

**6th January – Tokiwa Eisaku**

**18th February – Minami Daisuke**

**22nd March – Shinagawa Taisuke**

**23rd March – Hiirigizawa Eriol **

1st April – Kinomoto Sakura

7th April – Obata Yuuko

**5th May – Yamada Kaito**

13th May – Misaka Shiori

28th May – Mihara Chiharu

**1st June – Yamazaki Takashi**

24th June – Sasaki Rika

**13th July – Li Syaoran**

**8th August – Rokuda Kentaro**

3rd September – Daidouji Tomoyo

6th September – Saijou Miyabi

11th October – Yanagisawa Naoko

**18th October – Miyazaki Hideaki**

5th November – Mizunashi Rei

The ones bolded were the guy's birthdays while the girls were non-bolded.

She still can't believe that she had forgotten Yamazaki's birthday; she hated breaking promises.

Jobs are also promises to her. This responsibility was given to her, for her to fulfill. Even though she dislike this job as well as others, she still have to obey it, to do it. It was given to her, _for_ her. She can't just abandon it, can she?

Sakura saw the school's clock from a far. The clock had been there since it was first build.

A big clock it is.

Every time it chimes, the sounds echoed throughout the town. Everyone in town relies on that watch. From the place where she was standing, Sakura also saw the hand it was pointing.

20 minutes before 8 a.m.

Not bad, considering how late they departed from Penguin Park.

Sakura hugged her windbreaker as the spring breeze played with her. It's still quite chilly; she could probably freeze to death. Feeling a bit somber, Sakura eyed the gigantic clock again, thinking that hopefully, Chiharu-chan won't kill her.

…**.…To Be Continued Soon……

* * *

**

And now it's time for **LEAVE IT TO TeDDieZ BeaRZ**!

TB: Konnichiwa!

Kero: Konnanichiwa!

TB: Osaka-ben? Kero-chan! You…can talk!

Kero: -glares menacingly- Of course I can! I'm the Guardian of one of the powerful magic book in the world!

TB: B-but there's no such thing as magic here! Need I remind you that this story is a pure magic free story?

Kero: -looking skeptical- Is it? Well, maybe so…but this is my usual ending part! I am not to give it to weird looking people!

TB: No, it's mine! Non-exist creature should be locked up in a book! And I am most definitely not bizarre!

Kero: I am locked, Miss Obvious!

TB: Nevertheless, this is my role!

Kero: No, mine!

TB: Mine!

Kero: Mine!

TB: Mine, you plushie!

Kero: Mine, you cat thief!

TB: …Persistent stuff animal, really.

Kero: It's Beast of The Seal, you stupid authoress!

Sakura: Kero-chan! Such language is forbidden! Gomen nasai, TB-san.

TB: **Iie. Arigatou gozaimasu**, Sakura-chan.

Kero: -sulk-

TB: Fine, Kero-chan. You can have the part, but only this time.

Kero: Wai! Wai! Time for **Kero-chan check**! Let me talk you through the some of the words used.

_Kiu kiu mako – First Aid Kit_

_Ano – Umm…_

_Eto – Err…_

_Demo – But_

_Demo janai yo – No buts_

_Datte – But still_

_Ayashi na – How suspicious_

_Daijoubu desu – It's all right_

_Ojio-san – Aunt_

_Nani yo – what for_

_Doushtan desu – what's wrong_

_Cho dan daiyo – I'm joking!_

_Chigai yo – It's not that_

_Genki dase yo – Cheer up_

_Argatou gozaimasu – Thank you so much_

_Itaii – Ouch! – TB-chan is quite sure that most of you know what this means_

_Iie – No problem, No – TB-chan says the meaning depends on the text_

_Minna-san – everyone_

_Konnichiwa – hello_

_Konnanichiwa – Kero's way of saying hello_

_Honnana – Kero's version of goodbye_

Kero: TB-chan said that she's not sure about the Japanese words used since she took them from different animes like Kanon, Midori no Hibi, Inuyasha and Card Captor Sakura itself etc. TB-chan also said that this is her first try at a fan fiction (other than the two one-shots) and while she hopes to finish this story regardless of good or bad reviews she'd get, she would like to improve where needed. She can't improve without practice and any advices from you, the readers, would be highly appreciated. **So please, tell her EXACTLY what you think. **

TB: Why, Kero-chan. I never knew you talk so sweetly on my behalf. –smiles pleasantly-

Kero: That's because you told Sakura to starve me if I don't say it.

TB: I rather have them not know about it!

Kero: I changed my mind. -whispers- Flame her all you want for all I care. -runs away- Hon-na-na!

TB: Get back here, you-! Ah, read and enjoy, minna-san! –runs after Kero- Why, you mangy stuff animal! Get back here!


End file.
